The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for making white space in graphical representations of information more accessible to users.
It is generally accepted in modern society to represent various types of information in the form of graphical representations of various types. For example, various diagrams, charts, graphs, and the like, are often used to represent data in a graphical manner to assist in cognitive understanding by users viewing these representations. These graphical representations provide a means for expressing concepts and relationships about the underlying data in an easy to understand manner.
Some users may not be able to fully understand such graphical representations due to limitations of the user. For example, blind users, partially blind users, or even those with limited eyesight either cannot, or have significant difficulty in, perceiving the information, concepts, and relationships that are intended to be conveyed by the graphical representations. Mechanisms have been devised to assist such users with perceiving the graphical representations of such information by providing readers that audibly announce the text and objects shown in the graphical representations. One example of such a mechanism is described in, for example, Yu et al., “Web based Multimodal Graphs for Visually Impaired People,” 1st Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT), 25-27 Mar. 2002, Cambridge, England.